Credit: DisneyDeep in the middle of Earth Month, one Disney Park is taking a big step towards sustainability.
Just days ago, Disneyland Paris announced it was in the final stages of constructing the largest solar canopy plant in Europe. By the time it’s completed, the canopy – which covers the Guest parking lot – will produce 36 GWh per year, enough energy to cover a town of 17,400 people.
Now the Resort has launched its next sustainable initiative: recycling Cast Member costumes.
This ongoing program will see Disneyland Paris routinely recycle the old or unusable costumes worn by its Cast Members. The Resort currently employs over 17,000 Cast Members – which translates to a lot of fabric otherwise gone to waste when a costume is retired.
The initiative is said to work as follows:
To minimize our environmental footprint, we have implemented a recycling policy to reuse the fabrics of worn and damaged costumes to give them a second life. Recycling bins have been set up backstage to send the costumes to local ESATs (Etablissement et Service d’Aide par le Travail).
For 2023, Disneyland Paris has an annual recycling target of 50,000 costume pieces. Recycled clothing will be repurposed for the likes of insulating wire or felt, although the Resort is also exploring other uses.
As of right now, this initiative is a Paris exclusive. If it were to expand worldwide, it would have an impressive impact on other Disney Parks – especially Walt Disney World, which employs about 77,000 Cast Members.
While they may not have a large-scale recycling program, other Disney Parks are still getting into the Earth Month spirit. Walt Disney World is celebrating Animal Kingdom’s 25th Anniversary in tandem with Earth Day on April 22 – marking the day with exclusive food, merch, and character meet-and-greets – while Disneyland Resort has welcomed a new addition to the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa for the occasion.